Look at our health today. We all know someone who suffers or has suffered from cancer, infertility, anxiety, unexplained weight gain, hormonal issues, allergies and/or asthma. In fact, that list may unfortunately describe many Americans in one way or another.

Recent university research is showing that the lungs of a woman who cleans regularly is similar to that of someone who smokes around 20 cigarettes a day, thanks to her cleaning products and chemicals she is exposed to. Source.

It is crazy to think that our cleaning products could be to blame for this (along with personal care products and diets, etc…). Who would think that what we clean our homes with daily, wash our hands with daily and brush our teeth with could be so harmful for us? Isn’t there people out there looking out for us to make sure we don’t have harmful ingredients coming into our homes? Unfortunately NO, at least not like you’d think.

Our chemical laws are old, weak and need massive help.

In so many ways, other countries have it better than we do. Boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese contain better ingredients in other countries simply because those countries ban those toxins. Here in America, we have nothing really banned too often, so Kraft makes their mac + cheese just the way they like it, full of the bad ingredients. This is not the only company to do this or the only brand of food. Unfortunately this is a huge issue.

In the European Union over 1100 cosmetic ingredients are banned! In America LESS than 10 of those same ingredients are banned. You mean to tell me that out of a thousand ingredients, our people in control only thought 10 were bad? What the what? Crazy, right?

We need change. We need to change our lifestyles to ensure that we are doing our best to live long and healthy. We need to give our children fresh air to breathe.

Did you know that the air within your home is much more polluted than the air outside? Open the windows and air out your home a little this spring!

But why? Why stress about it all when it’s just a little bit of toxins? Because that little bit turns into a LOT over time. The average woman comes into contact with around 300 chemicals a day and 80 of those are often before breakfast time. Seems like a lot right? But think of how many times you wash your hands, wipe down the counter tops, wash your face, apply your makeup, brush your teeth, breathe in your candles and plug ins and spray your perfume. It’s a never ending pattern of chemicals and toxins all coming to you!

It takes around a mere 26 seconds for the products that you apply or that come into contact with your skin to reach your blood stream.

Common toxins found in products that I avoid. These are just some of the biggies, but there are many more:

Parabens are in so many skin care products; they preserve other ingredients and extend a product’s shelf life. There are many types of parabens: methylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, etc. They are also dangerous and something I avoid completely because Parabens disrupt hormones. Parabens have been found in many breast tumors, which is no surprise since parabens actually mimic the estrogen hormone.

Fragrances is an ingredient that I stay far away from. The term fragrance is considered a company’s trade secret and therefore thousands (literally) of ingredients are housed under that term. Here is where phthalates usually lurk and these are hormone disruptors as well and can even be cancerous. It’s where big companies can hide lots of ingredients.

Triclosan is actually considered a pesticide by the EPA yet it is in most of our soaps, hand sanitizers and even our tooth paste. It has the ability to stay on the skin for many hours after use and damages human cells. It can cause birth defects, decreased fertility and organ damage.

The Material Safety Data Sheets for propylene glycol warns that the chemical can be rapidly absorbed through the skin, with prolonged contact leading to brain, liver and kidney abnormalities. This is a common ingredients found in toothpaste!

Around 90% of liquid soaps, shampoos, etc… contain SLS. SLS is the same active ingredients in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers and more. Why would you want the same thing you degrease an engine with on your skin? It can cause cell damage, hair loss and has been linked to eye and skin irritations, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity and quite a few other things.

Ammonia and Chlorine are both capable of irritating our respiratory health and contributing to respiratory issues.

2-Butoxyethanol is commonly found in multipurpose cleaners and is actually the law does not require company's to list this ingredient. However in addition to causing sore throats when inhaled, it can also contribute to narcosis, pulmonary edema, and severe liver and kidney damage if it reaches high enough levels in a room that is not ventilated very well.

Did you know that burning a candle for one hour is considered to be just as harmful as smoking a cigarette?

The toxins you breathe in are just as dirty thanks to all of the synthetic fragrances and more in there! If you don’t smoke because you want to be healthy, then why breathe those toxins in another way? #justsayinggirl #diffuseoilsinstead

When our bodies take in too many toxins, we experience toxin overload. Basically our body can no longer break the toxins down properly and this becomes damaging to our health. Toxin overload is not something you are going to be diagnosed with at the doctor’s office. This is something that people discover after plenty of research and after changing their lifestyle. Toxin overload can be disguised as any of the following: anxiety, weight gain, hormonal disruption, poor sleep, fatigue, reproductive complications, cancer, allergies, asthma and more.

Also, think of how many products and cleaners you have stored under that kitchen sink or in the laundry room cabinet? Can you imagine getting rid of all of those, taking them off of your shopping list and never having to buy them EVER again! ONE bottle of cleaner can safely clean and disinfect it all!

So what can YOU do differently? It's easy really. Below are some great steps for small changes that have a BIG impact on your health!

Scan your products! Download the Think Dirty App (free) onto your phone and scan all of the products around your home. The results will SHOCK you! This is usually the push many people need when they see their shampoo rates a 10/10 for cancer. Yikes!

Toss the cleaners! Yes, ALL of them. You can do this if you use the Thieves Household Cleaner. It is safe for all surfaces and it disinfects naturally.

Invest in baking soda and vinegar. Use the two together to make a scrubbing paste that is the bomb!

Get rid of fake smells. Sorry guys, but candles, plug ins and air fresheners are the worst! Replace them with essential oils or soy/beeswax candles scented with pure essential oils.

Toss the dryer sheets! These are a huge pollutant. Invest in wool dryer balls instead and add essential oils to them and then toss into the dryer!

Ditch the tupperware. Plastic tupperware contains many chemicals that leach into your food. Slowly switch over to glass dishes (we like Anchor and Pyrex brand).

Thieves household cleaner is a super concentrated formula. One capful in a spray bottle of water is all it takes to clean EVERYTHING. One bottle of Thieves cleaner makes around 30 spray bottles of cleaner. It is also effective at stain removal and for mopping. To learn more about Thieves and the home cleaning kit, message me or visit this link for more info!

Happy Spring Cleaning! Share your cleaning types and schedules with us below! How do you spring clean?

Sasha is the owner and founder of The Mushy Mommy, a natural mother and baby boutique and The Mushy Mommy Village. She is a SAHM who works hard at living as minimal and unprocessed as possible, but never claims perfection. Her mission is to inspire, encourage, enlighten and empower mothers all over to feel good about their choices, to make healthy choices and to enjoy motherhood and all of its beauty and chaos.

Perhaps one of my favorite homemaking topics is always about grocery shopping and budgets! I don’t know why, but this conversation always inspires me to see how I can change my ways or it sometimes even makes me proud of being able to keep our grocery budget near the amount that we tend to.

Everyone has different ideas of what is a “good” grocery food budget and that is okay because every family has different needs and wants. Honestly, there’s no right or wrong answer here in terms of budgets and where to shop - but there’s always some handy tips to share with one another.

I have found that these tips (some that are widely known tips) really do help with sticking to a clear budget and without getting distracted by extras.

Let’s face it, motherhood isn’t easy. We often need all of the unicorn magic, fairy dust and rainbows to make it through each day. But since those things don’t really exist, I’ll just settle on some good oils, lots of prayers and a cheap glass of wine.

When it comes to oils and motherhood there are countless oils we can use for our day. Whether it’s oils for emotions, oils for sleep or even oils for our teething babies, there are many ways in which we can have a tool box of support for our day to day role as MOM.

So today I am going to highlight my top 10 oils that I insist every mother should have on hand. There are so many wonderful oils and several that I have left off here, but dang these are mostly just the oils that will help bring you some peace, sleep and sanity. And a little backup for all the in betweens.

I thought I would always be that mom…

You know, the mom who had kids that ALWAYS looked super put together and stylish. Maybe not always in the fanciest of clothes (because #bills), but definitely in the cutest clothes from hip boutiques and with beautiful bows and perfect hair.

And then life happened.

And by life, I really just mean I had three kids within 5 years. Which translates to a whole lot of chaos if we’re being real here.

There are days where we leave our house and I’m thinking to myself, “Damn I hope we don’t run into anyone we know.” Or I’m already mentally preparing myself to tell whatever human I run into the truth - these heathens demanded on dressing themselves and today I didn’t care because it was one less battle to win.

Want to know more about a particular topic? Have a product you want us to try? Need advice on how to begin cloth diapering?

We are always ready to hear from our readers! Shoot us a message with your questions and thoughts and we'll happily get back to you as soon as possible.

themushymommy@gmail.com

DISCLAIMER: This is a support site that does not claim to make any medical claims. It simply gives personal testimonials and "possible" solutions. Please always talk to your care provider before making any decisions regarding your health or your family's.